Real Dictators

NOISER

Real Dictators is the award-winning podcast that explores the hidden lives of history's tyrants. Hosted by Paul McGann, with contributions from eyewitnesses and expert historians. New episodes available one week early for Noiser+ subscribers. You'll also get ad-free listening and exclusive content. To find out more about Noiser+, head to noiser.com/subscriptions. For advertising enquiries, email [email protected] Production: Joel Duddell, Ed Baranski, Miriam Baines, Tom Pink, George Tapp, Dorry Macaulay, Cian Ryan-Morgan, Anisha Devadasan, Joseph McGann. Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/real for £100 sponsored credit.

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Top 10 Real Dictators Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Real Dictators episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Real Dictators for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Real Dictators episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Kim Jong-il Part 2: Time to Make a Movie…

Real Dictators

06/15/20 • 48 min

Kim Jong-il has risen to become propaganda chief under the rule of his father. Now, he hatches an audacious plan to turn North Korea into a filmmaking powerhouse. South Korea’s finest actress and leading director are kidnapped and find themselves on boats bound for the North. Elsewhere, Kim launches a charm offensive at the armed forces, readying the ground for his coronation. And his father dies, leaving the path to power seemingly clear...

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4 Listeners

Kim Jong-il Part 3: Nuclear Armed

Real Dictators

06/24/20 • 52 min

Installed as dictator, Kim Jong-il builds an all-powerful state that dominates the lives and minds of its people. North Korea is wracked by famine. The people adapt to survive - we hear from one man who flouted the rules and paid a horrific price. Lurid rumours emerge about how the ‘Dear Leader’ spends his leisure time. And Kim Jong-il begins work on an arsenal of nuclear weapons that will spook the world and pave the way for his own son’s ascent to power.

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4 Listeners

Benito Mussolini Part 1: Italy’s Fascist Godfather

Real Dictators

12/11/24 • 65 min

We begin at the end... in 1945, with a pile of bodies dumped in Milan then strung up for all to see. Among them, the most powerful man in Italy. One of the most significant figures in modern history. How did it come to this? In this episode, we scroll back to follow the start of Benito Mussolini’s extraordinary rise. From humble origins as the son of a blacksmith and a schoolteacher, Il Duce will emerge as an incendiary journalist and activist. And before long, the onetime vagrant and draft-dodger will be on his way to the front line of World War One...

A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson.

Many thanks to Giulia Albanese, Joshua Arthurs, John Foot, Nicholas O’Shaughnessy, Lisa Pine, Helen Roche.

This is Part 1 of 7.

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3 Listeners

Colonel Gaddafi Part 2: Gaddafi in London

Real Dictators

06/22/21 • 37 min

In the 1960s, Libya gets rich on oil. But, with the wealth squandered, many question the King’s authority. Among them is young Muammar Gaddafi. Sent to England as a military cadet, Gaddafi roams the streets of Swinging London in flowing Bedouin robes. With his training complete, he readies himself for an audacious seizure of power.

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3 Listeners

Kim Jong-il Part 1: Birth of North Korea

Real Dictators

06/08/20 • 53 min

Kim Jong-il built a rogue state with nuclear missiles trained on its enemies – all while living a life of the utmost luxury. In the first episode of Real Dictators, we piece together the early life of this tyrant and that of the country he came to rule. Kim Jong-il is born during World War Two. His father – Kim Il-sung – fights the Japanese and helps found the state of North Korea. After the War, son and nation grow up together, as Kim Jong-il begins his own rise to power. Historians trace Kim’s early years, while defectors from North Korea reflect on the propaganda they grew up with.

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3 Listeners

Adolf Hitler Part 4: The Spy Becomes the Nazi Leader

Real Dictators

04/13/21 • 38 min

Hitler is sent undercover, tasked with spying on a band of extremists. But he soon falls under their spell and breaks cover to join their ranks. They will soon become the Nazi Party, and this new recruit their leader. Under a new mentor, Adolf Hitler finds his voice. His march towards power is grinding into gear.

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3 Listeners

Oliver Cromwell Part 1: The Rise of Ironsides

Real Dictators

04/16/24 • 66 min

Say “Oliver Cromwell” today and certain things come to mind. He won the English Civil War and prompted the execution of Charles I. He purged the realm with such zeal that he even cancelled Christmas. In Ireland, where Cromwell’s troops besieged its towns with a notorious barbarity, his name is still used as a curse. “The greatest prince that ever ruled England”, as one historian called him? Or, as Winston Churchill would counter, a tyrant and a despot?

A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson.

Many thanks to Peter Gaunt, Clare Jackson, Anna Keay, John Morrill, Nicholas O’Shaughnessy, Micheál Ó Siochrú.

This is Part 1 of 4.

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3 Listeners

Colonel Gaddafi Part 1: Son of the Desert

Real Dictators

06/15/21 • 38 min

‘Brother Leader’, ‘King of Kings’, ‘Falcon of Africa’... ‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World'. Colonel Gaddafi was the Libyan tyrant who abused his people on an industrial scale, until he was murdered by them as they rose up against him. A revolutionary who freed his country from empire, only to squander its riches. Terrorist sponsor one moment, Western ally the next. At the height of World War Two, a Bedouin child is born in Libya’s desert. From these humble origins, Muammar Gaddafi will go on to dominate global events for half a century.

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3 Listeners

Napoleon Part 3: The Egyptian Adventure

Real Dictators

08/16/22 • 53 min

Napoleon sails for the Middle East. After the Battle of the Pyramids, a scientific mission makes remarkable findings, introducing the Western world to the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. But after a drubbing from Britain’s naval supremo, Horatio Nelson, Napoleon does a runner. His return to Paris is timed to perfection. Almost by accident, Bonaparte will seize power...

A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson.

This is Part 3 of 6.

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2 Listeners

Franco Part 3: The Spanish Civil War

Real Dictators

05/25/21 • 41 min

In July 1936, Spain erupts into civil war. But Francisco Franco is marooned far away in the Canary Islands. A devious rescue mission ensues. Back on Spanish soil, Franco begins the process of conquering his homeland, butchering his enemies as he goes. Mussolini and Hitler lend a hand. Closing in on Madrid, Franco lays the groundwork for a decades-long dictatorship.

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2 Listeners

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